Case Study 8: A 26 year old man is very concerned about cleanliness and hygiene. He spends a significant amount of time each day washing his hands or showering, especially after touch a toilet seat, doorknob, or any other item he thinks may be dirty or contaminated. The patient explains that he is concerned about becoming infected or sick from touching these objects. He periodically acknowledges that the washing is excessive but explains that he becomes very anxious when he tries to avoid washing and eventually feels compelled to wash even more to make up for the omission.
The patient has mysophobia, a fear of dirt and germs. As a result, his phobia has developed into Obsessive-Compulisive Disorder (OCD).
One recommeneded procedure to treating OCD is behavior therapy (repeated exposure and response prevention). According to Dr. Gerald Tarlow, "facing your fears through therapy can abolish your compulsions and significantly reduce your obsessive thoughts, thus alleviating your feelings of shame and guilt."
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4 comments:
Great job. I agree with you that the OCD developed initially from the phobia. It can be hard to distinguish between the two disorders.
I thought you did a good job at telling what type of OCD the man had, it reminded me of the movie Avioter. Great job!
Can OCD develop from a Phobia? I thought that mysophobia was symptom of OCD. Regardless both issues are there so you're right either way haha. Nice work.
I thought you could use a little more analysis, especially in your therapy section. Maybe describe what kind of therapy and add a personal opinion to it instead of just a quote. I thought you distinguished between the two disorders very well and thought the post was ver good overall
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